The Proof is
in the Pudding!
What does
that mean? This is an old proverb that has joined the microwave
generation!
It has been
clipped down from the original phrase which was:
"The proof of the pudding is in the
eating."
It means
that the true value or quality of something can
only be
judged when it's put to use or tried and tested.
The meaning
is often summed up as:
"Results are what count...it's not how you start, but how you finish."
(For this study...we
aren't talking about
'instant pudding'! We are talking about the
pudding that is cooked and
stirred on top of the stove....
takes
time
!)
In school we spent
days, weeks, months, even years learning about a subject
but the real measure of the matter is whether or not you learned anything
when you
were/are given a
test!
(
The
Proof is in the Pudding!)
"The
refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the LORD tests hearts."
Proverbs 17:3
The tests are the
same with the Lord. He has been teaching us many things in His
Word,
in our
prayer closets, in our
every day walk.
Here comes the
TEST!
When we are faced with trials,
temptations, difficulties and all manner of testings how will we handle it?
If we have learned it well, it will show up in our reaction and our response to
the trials and test that come our way!
We will pass
the test with "flying colors!"
Why
does He test us?
Let's go back to the
Book of Judges and the nations left to
TEST
Israel.
How could God allow this to happen? They (Israel) had forsaken Him, yet He knew that at some point during their suffering, they would turn back to Him.
Mountain-Go-Round
Many of us are like
Eeyore in our attitudes! We have become professional
"Mountain-Go-Rounders!"
"O Lord,
I've been going around this mountain of testing for 'days, weeks, months,
years...decades. Woe is me."
The
Scripture says: Consider it all joy!
"Consider it
all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have {its} perfect
result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing".
James
1:2-4
The end result of
choosing joy in the midst of trials, testings, and difficulties is that you
will grow as a Christian. When your faith is tested and you pass the test, you
gain endurance and you grow in the strength of your faith.
When you first become a Christian, you're just a spiritual baby, so God gives you "baby step tests". But the longer you walk with Him, the more intense the testings are - you don't think about the simple faith tests any more - you've grown above them, they don't shake you anymore. Your victory through the early testings produced endurance.
Testing involves
turning up the heat, allowing afflictions. Often the Lord
will use the
ungodly to administer the test and sometimes those
of your family
and/or the household of God. But God....
God does not put us
on the back burner and allow us just to sit and burn.
He stirs us and
encourages us to stir up the gifts that are within us.
Much
as we hate tests, they are really good for us.
That's why
we should be able to pray:
The Proof is
in the Pudding!
Shalom and
blessings
bj
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